Even Me!

Father, my praise rises to You. You are my Provider. You are my Creator. You are my Savior. You are my Sustainer. May I always be mindful of these, and so many more, of Your mighty and majestic attributes!

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My brain needs a change of direction, so I’d like to step away from John 1:14 and write about something, as many of you well know, that is near and dear to my heart…music!
I love many of the old hymns and regularly have the pleasure of singing them. One thing about the whole pandemic is that it has necessitated virtual worship. And to keep costs to an absolute minimum, I have chosen to not spend money on any kind of licensing that would allow me to use newer hymns. Everything that we sing or play in our services falls into the category of public domain. Each of them is no longer copyrighted.
I have a book published in 1990 (Oh, my, that was 30 years ago!) entitled Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions. The hymn for today is “Jesus Loves Even Me”. It was one of many songs written by Philip P. Bliss. Bliss was an associate of evangelist Dwight L. Moody and Major Daniel W. Whittle (an acclaimed lyricist in his own right – he wrote both “I Know Whom I Have Believed” and “Showers of Blessing”). At the age of 38 Bliss’s life tragically came to an end when he and his wife were killed in a terrible train accident.
Bliss wrote “Jesus Loves Even Me” in 1870. Growing up, I knew it as a children’s hymn, but it applies to all children of God. After attending a service where the hymn “O How I Love Jesus” was sung repeatedly, Bliss thought, “Have I not been singing enough about my poor love for Jesus and shall I not rather sing of His great love for me?” Soon he completed both the words and music… (p.58)
The Apostle John records Jesus as saying,

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love…” John 15:9 _NLT

As I read through the six verses he wrote, the last one grabbed my attention.

In this assurance I find sweetest rest,
Trusting in Jesus, I know I am blessed;
Satan, dismayed, from my soul now doth flee,
When I just tell him that Jesus loves me.

How many times do we feel that the world has just run over us like a Mack truck? That old deceiver, the devil, stands smirking over us with the attitude that once more he has taken us down. I love the last two lines, Satan, dismayed, from my soul now doth flee, When I just tell him that Jesus loves me.
There is power in our relationship with Jesus! If we do as Jesus admonishes us, “Remain in my love” then the powers of earth and hell itself cannot stand against us! The devil flees, just knowing that Jesus loves us!
The closing sentence of the devotional sums it all up. Take time to thank your Lord once more for His great love for you personally, a love that cannot be comprehended but can only be gratefully accepted by faith.
Here’s a nice rendition of the hymn and it even includes the verse I noted. Enjoy!

Feb 17^th, 2021, Tues, 8:29 pm